An advocacy club for female-identifying students, Choate for Women empowered female voices through a poetry reading event in the Andrew Mellon Library’s Reading Room on March 28. People in attendance listened to the readings, asked questions, and discussed the meaning behind the text in honor of Women’s History Month.
Three students — Francesca Howard ’26, Chloe Jacobs ’23, and Keegan Hennessy ’25 — read poems incorporating themes of female triumph, struggle, and the overall experience of what it means to be a woman. Students discussed how the poems aligned with the female experience at Choate and the ways in which historical events connect to recent ones. The conversation touched on a multitude of topics, from the use of hurtful vocabulary to the ways in which sexism is ingrained into different languages.
Hennessy, a member of Choate for Women, recited a poem about the Salem Witch Trials titled “Prophecy 1” by Amanda Lovelace. “It kind of is poking fun at the Salem Witch Trials and the burning of women in historical context,” she said. “[Lovelace] projects into the future and draws parallels between the Salem Witch Trials and the things that happen in our current society.”
Jacobs was grateful to be a part of the event. The original poem she read is about the fictional birthday of a 10-year-old girl. Jacobs’s writing delves into the emotional complications of “personhood” and the limitations of gender identity. Jacobs hopes that audience members in attendance that day were able to relate to her words, and she appreciated the kind and gentle environment they created. She wants to remind female-identifying students that they are not alone. “I could witness in real time how my words lead some people down a path of reflection and acceptance for the things which they had experienced,” said Jacobs.
“Overall, the event went much better than I anticipated, and everyone was really receptive to the poems,” said Racquel Welcome ’24, President of Choate for Women. Welcome said the event was relatively easy to plan, and it spurred great discussion. She ended, “I hope to highlight the diversity of the female experience by collaborating with more clubs and hosting more events.”
